Being Pakistani

I often hear from people; I live in Punjab but I don’t know how to speak Punjabi, I am seraiki but I don’t understand what Attaullah sings, My parents are Pakhtoon but I don’t know Pashto, I live in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa but I don’t know about famous foods there, I am Kashmiri but I don’t know about the beauty of snowy December and most pathetic statement I ever heard is “I am Pakistani but I can’t speak Urdu”. I remember a Japanese student in my university; her name was quite difficult and when I asked her any short form of the name, she replied, “You can call me Rehmat Bibi”; she told me the meanings of her name in Urdu and I was feeling proud. She was telling about Pakistani singers, poets and writers in a very respectable way.

Our culture is beautiful and diverse. Our four provinces don’t divide us but they provide us a variety of culture and each and every color of our culture is beautiful and charming. A child came to me with his project to paste pictures of our culture on a chart and it was hard to manage it on a single chart. We have moral values, customs, beautiful events, rivers, lakes, mountains, a great biodiversity of fauna and flora. Beauty of four provinces with an amalgam of Kashmir forms an epic culture. How can I forget about northern areas….which accomplish the true beauty of Pakistan. We are lucky to enjoy four seasons in a year.

In hostel when we talk about wedding ceremony of one’s cousins or siblings, there are same traditions for Mehndi, Baraat, Rukhsati and Walima with little modification although we all belong to different areas of Pakistan. We all celebrate our religious occasions all over the country with joy and dignity.

How deep rooted is our culture. History is preserved by the festivals, days and attributes to the legends. Culture is identified and glorified when it is in practice. Our designers, artists, singers, writer, computer engineers, players, educationists, doctors and every single individual represent culture on national and international level. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we are Pakistani. We must preserve our heritage and culture.

It is essential to be Pakistani as we represent our country; our actions, behaviors, dealings and character at national and international levels tell others about our country. People will automatically respect our culture if we represent it in a graceful way. We move on in our lives but our foremost priority must be our culture.

1 Comment

HilarionSeptember 23, 2014

amazing isn’t… I am not pakistani… but for some reason I love Pakistan… I realized I know more about Pakistan than many of my pakistani friends… well sometimes happens… But as far I am concern I always make attempt to know everything about my country. I am from south America. and hope you can guess what country I am from…

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